A couple of summers ago we went on vacation to visit our old stomping grounds in Portland, Oregon. It was the first time we returned since moving to Colorado and starting our family. We took the kids to the coast, ate ice cream and cheese from the Tillamook factory, and showed them the amazing Multnomah Falls. On our way to one of our favorite breakfast diners, I spotted a new restaurant that opened after we left – The Waffle Window.

“Is that seriously a window serving gourmet waffles?” I asked The Husband in delighted shock.

Indeed it was. Not only were they serving a variety of sweet waffles dipped in chocolate and covered with fresh fruit and sugar, they had a unique selection of savory waffles with cheese, vegetables, and different types of meat. I immediately fell in love with the place and wished in my heart that Fort Collins would someday offer something similar.

After years of patiently waiting, on April 13, 2012, Bill Almquist along with culinary team Holly LeMasurier, and Nick Chase launched The Waffle Lab – a food truck specializing in gourmet liége waffle creations. This is our Fort Collins version of the Waffle Window!!

Parked in the Pateros Creek Brewing Company parking lot, The Waffle Lab’s liége waffles are, at this point, the best waffles in the entire city. They are absolutely amazing. They are made from yeast-leavened dough and imported Belgian pearl sugar. When baked at a specific temperature, the sugar pearls partially melt inside the waffle and caramelize on the outside for the perfect combination of gentle sweet flavor and firmer texture. When taking a bite, you feel the very slight crunch from the sugar that pairs so well with all of the savory options.

I visited one sunny afternoon for lunch with The Preschooler. When ordering, we coincidentally ran into Coloradoan reporter Trevor Hughes while he was there collecting photo content for a developing story on city food truck regulations. It was fun to hear how much he enjoyed his meals there while The Preschooler pet “Lady,” the Waffle Lab’s sweet and friendly black Labrador who hangs out with the waffle creators. I couldn’t wait to dig in.

The Preschooler ordered the “Mild High” Grilled Cheese – Swiss and cheddar cheeses melted between two halves of a liége waffle. He decided to add bacon (smart kid).

The bacon could have been on the crispier side, as it was a little floppy, but it still tasted fantastic. The sweetness of the waffle combined with the richness of the cheese and bacon made this lunch a hit with the kid. Being a little guy, I didn’t expect him to eat the whole thing. He devoured it. I don’t think this would be a favorite with kids alone, this is something that everyone would fawn over.

I ordered “The Big Capr-Easy” – basil, tomato, and fresh mozzarella layered on a liége waffle, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, a balsamic reduction sauce, and sprinkled with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Incredible. Absolutely incredible. I would actually eat the waffle and the balsamic reduction sauce on its own, it was that good! The sugar in the waffle brings out the natural sweetness of the cheese and vegetables, making this a uniquely memorable lunch.

We sat on the Pateros Creek Brewing patio to have a proper place to sit and enjoy our meal. While sitting there, a rough-edged and heavily tattooed guy sitting next to us kindly chatted with us about our respective lunches. He had ordered the Cache La Porter beer brat, but wasn’t as much of a fan of his lunch as we were of ours. Bill came by to see how everyone was satisfied with their lunches. Our table neighbor politely spoke up about his disappointment. Within minutes, Bill came out with a complementary replacement waffle for him and apologized for not meeting the mans’ expectations. He was thrilled with the level of service, and so was I as a witness.

I returned again on an over-cast rainy day with my friend Patti to talk about implementing social media strategies for an upcoming project she’s working on. Once again, there’s nothing like a business meeting with food and beer! And this time, the weather and waffles made me nostalgic for the Pacific Northwest.

Patti ordered the beer brat with grilled onions. She said that she could really taste the beer, and seemed to enjoy that, but the soggy bun promptly fell apart, making it a difficult meal to eat without utensils. The brats here are not a strong point, and they could use some work – mostly on the bun.

I ordered the “Northwest Special” – wild Alaskan smoked salmon, cream cheese, and capers served on a liége waffle. It was ideal for the gray drizzle that blanketed Fort Collins.

Aside from the Portland nostalgia that lingered, I was not disappointed with any part of my meal, other than the fact that it ended. These waffles are not small in size, by any means. However, they are so good, they’re like Pringles – you don’t want to stop at just one. My Northwest Special was loaded with flaky smoked salmon. Most places skimp on it, but not here at the Waffle Lab! The salty capers and the soft cream cheese popped with flavor because of the underlying sweetness of the waffle. I’m drooling as I write about it.

Many times during my vacations and visits to other cities, I leave wishing Fort Collins had a delicious equivalent. You know, we’re really starting to see that happen. Not only are we seeing a surge of food trucks, but we’re also seeing more creative and unique foods being offered. The Waffle Lab calms my aches for Pacific Northwest foods in an mouth-watering, exciting way. Just as I immediately fell in love with Portland’s Waffle Window, I’m head-over-heels for Fort Collins’ Waffle Lab!

The Waffle Lab
242 North College
(970) 222-5060
www.thewafflelab.com

Kid-Friendly? Absolutely!

Parking: Shared parking lot

Healthy Options? They do offer a gluten-free waffle, and many of the options are already vegetarian

Budget-Friendly? Very. Most average $6. Most expensive is $8.25

Recent Health Inspection: Unknown

Those first few months were really challenging as a new mom and I was having a very difficult time getting it all sorted out. During one particularly eye-opening argument with my husband about him going out to a concert, he snapped at me, “You need friends.” As harsh as it was to hear, he was completely right. I did. I was stuck at home and the only people in my daily life were my new baby and my husband. That night while he was out, I emailed the MOMS Club of Fort Collins.

For the next four years, I was involved in an organization that helped its members and the community while forming treasured friendships. We made blankets for Project Linus, held many food drives for the Food Bank for Larimer County, and organized a children’s fashion show fundraiser for Project Self- Sufficiency (these were just a few examples, we did much more for our community than this). Not only did we strive to help others in Fort Collins, the support offered to members within the club was astounding. There was a steady sign-up for meal trains for moms with new babies once they returned home from the hospital. If a member was going through a rough time, there were 20-50 women there to help out. During each of my pregnancies, I suffered terribly from Hyperemesis. While I was practically dying in my living room (by no means is that an exaggeration), MOMS Club was there taking turns watching my oldest son while my husband was at work, and bringing meals over to my family while I was completely incapacitated.

“MOMS” in MOMS Club stands for “Moms Offering Moms Support” and if a member needs help, this organization comes together like a well-oiled support machine.

A few months ago one of the MOMS Club members, Stacy Loughlin, went though every mother’s worst nightmare – a medical emergency where she thought they were going to lose their 17 month old son, Conn. One day he went from crawling around at playgroups to an ambulance ride to PVH that turned into a helicopter flight to Children’s Hospital in Denver. What they didn’t know is that he had a metabolic disorder that caused his blood to become highly acidic when he was sick and caused some brain damage. They do not have a specific diagnosis for what he has but they have discovered that he has a metabolic disorder that falls in the category of Leigh’s Disease. They do not know what his future will hold, but the doctors are fairly certain that this is a “life limiting” condition. They have run extensive tests and continue to do everything they can to come up with a specific diagnosis, but there is also a good chance that that they will never completely know what is going on. Now, Conn is fed via a feeding tube in his stomach and he is not able to consistently control his muscles enough to sit up or functionally use his hands, arms, and legs. He is able to smile and is regaining some motor control, he can lift his head for short periods of time and hit at objects with his hands, he likes to be held, go swimming and watch his brothers play.

You may have read about the Loughlin’s story in a few articles that The Coloradoan printed.

With one of its members struggling, once again MOMS Club came to the rescue. They have organized a fundraiser with Matador Mexican Grill on Saturday, May 19th. Drop by Matador for breakfast, lunch, or dinner to raise money for the Conn Loughlin Fund to help the Loughlin family with their mounting medical expenses. 20% of what you spend will be donated to his fund. You must have a voucher to get the donation made.

On this Mother’s Day, I think about “Moms Offering Moms Support.” I think about how we moved to Fort Collins six years ago to live in a city that exudes a strong sense of community. I’m thankful to know that if tragedy strikes, there are many mothers, community members, and local restaurants willing to lend a helping hand.

My days are often filled with meetings of all sorts, and because my work revolves around food and restaurants, I frequently have them over lunch or dinner. It’s a great way to multitask – take pictures and taste a meal for an upcoming review, then get down to brass tacks of the meeting. It’s also a fantastic way to make successful business connections. There’s something about sitting down together that makes makes it personal – trust is strengthened, perceptions are changed, ideas blossom, and real relationships are formed. Business flourishes when you share mutual trust and tapas.

Recently, I’ve had quite a few meetings that have revolved around blogging. Blogging is my biggest passion and it’s starting to really bubble in our city. Various people have emailed asking if we could go out and talk about blogs. I’m always happy to oblige! Coincidentally, my meals at Domenic’s were a result of business and blogging, a combination of business and pleasure, sharing meals and knowledge with wonderful people.

The first time I tasted what Domenic’s had to offer was at The TASTE benefit while live tweeting for the organization. Strolling along with my friend and fellow writer, Lara, who writes Adventures Of A Happy Eater, we stopped by their booth to try the beef carpaccio they were serving. It was the best thing I ate there the entire night. Domenic’s had been on my “to review” list for a long time, but after that bite, it shot up as a top priority.

Domenic’s began in 2003 with restauranteur, Brian Tessari. A few years later in 2007, Brian brought us Vincent’s (which coincidentally, I reviewed while talking about blogging with a couple of readers, too). Located on Harmony and Lemay next to Lee’s Cycles, it’s not the best of locations as it’s easily hidden and forgotten about. But, Executive Chef Rick DeHerder and Chef de Cuisine Trevor Burt have a selection of dishes that make them difficult to ignore.

My first visit was a delightful dinner meeting with one of my Four Course Marketing partners, and fellow writer and blogger, Katrina Pfannkuch. For our meeting to talk about blogs, we kicked it off with some drinks while perusing the menu.

I started with a pomegranate martini since it was Happy Hour all night long, which meant that drinks were $5 rather than $10. Sounded like a great deal to me! It was refreshingly delicious, to boot.

For our appetizer, we ordered fresh steamed mussels in a spicy white wine butter sauce  with tomato and basil.

We couldn’t believe how tasty this dish was! The mussels were little plump treasures of velvety, buttery deliciousness. Each bite melted in our mouths. The white wine butter sauce was so good, that we wouldn’t let our server take it from the table until we were ready to leave at the end of the night. I kept dipping slices of bread in there and savoring every nibble.

For our entrees, Katrina started with Lasagna Bolognese – Italian sausage and beef, layered between pasta, ricotta and mozzarella, and served with a side of steamed broccoli.

The sauce was particularly fresh and delightful. It had a wonderful from-scratch flavor to it. We were slightly disappointed with the beef because it had a solid tough texture to it, although it didn’t change the fantastic flavor of the meal.

I ordered the Cassoulet – duck confit, sausage and canolini beans. What a comforting, savory, soulful dish that was robust with earthy flavors. The canolini beans were soft giving each bite a lovely texture in contrast with the bits of duck and sausage.

We talked for hours savoring every bit of our respective dinners. It was an incredible night of fantastic food combined with amazing conversation.

I returned again for lunch, this time with Lauren who write the Napa Of Beer blog to talk about The Scoop Blog Network and help her out with some pro blogging tips.

We decided to order an array of tapas. Lauren chose the crab cakes and scallop ceviche shooters. I ordered the prosciutto wrapped dates and beef carpaccio.

Lauren’s crab cakes were a generous size, filled with tender crab and not a mash of bread crumb filler. That’s the best kind of crab cake!

The ceviche shooters weren’t actually shooters, since shooters are technically in shot glasses, but they were a combination of lime juice, soy, and jalapeño chili on fried wontons. They were fresh, and brightly flavored with citrus and capsaicin from the chili. The heat pinched the taste buds just a bit, but not enough to numb the other flavors. They were wonderful, despite some of the wontons being a tad over-baked.

The prosciutto wrapped dates with herb chèvre and chives were small bites of heaven. I wished they were bigger or at least more of them on the plate. The crispy shell of bacon combined with the gentle sweetness of the date was completely addicting. I actually contemplated ordering a second plate, but then thought better of it since that seemed a bit excessive.

The beef carpaccio with truffle oil, minced red onions, capers and toast points was just as amazing as the servings I sampled at The TASTE. The bread was a little more than “toasted” on some slices, but I just pushed those aside and scooped up fork-fulls of the salty, savory slices of beef. I wished there was more of this dish to enjoy as well. You know you’re eating great food when you’re disappointed that it will end after a few bites.

For dessert, I decided to order the Chef’s Special – cannoli. The flavor was spot on with a richness of sweet and cream, but the texture was off with it being overly runny. That made them difficult to eat as we tried to scoop up the sweet cream with our forks and cannoli shells.

There’s something about sharing meals with others that makes it personal – trust is strengthened, perceptions are changed, ideas blossom, and real relationships are formed. With the delicious options I enjoyed at Domenic’s with some fantastic bloggers, our relationships flourished by sharing mutual trust and tapas.

Domenic’s Bistro and Wine Bar
931 East Harmony
(970) 207-0411
www.domenicsrestaurant.com

Kid-Friendly? They do have a small kids’ menu with pizza and spaghetti

Parking: Shared parking lot

Healthy Options? Small plates for portion control, a few vegetarian items, but nothing that fit gluten-free or food-allergy friendly. They ask that you don’t make substitutions.

Budget-Friendly? Moderately priced at $15-$29 per entree

Recent Health Inspection: Good

Only in Fort Collins do you see people adding local craft beer to their margaritas. The Pomerita from Fuzzy’s Taco Shop really is delicious with a fantastic mix of sweet margarita mix and malty, fruity hints of pomegranate from Fort Collins Brewery Major Tom’s Pomegranate Wheat beer. When a friend of a friend was visiting Fort Collins, a group of us did a tour of places around the city. We ended our night at Fuzzy’s solely because of these margaritas. And for that reason, this Pomerita makes the “Eat Of The Week!”

If someone has lived a troubled past and they decide to turn their life around, one of the most common recommendations is that they find new friends to fit their new lifestyle. A person can clean up, but old habits die hard. It’s difficult to make life changes without the support of new friends who won’t drag you back down that same troubled road.

I think the same philosophy can be applied to business and marketing, too. When a business is looking to change and rebrand themselves, it’s wise to follow the same protocol – new name, new look, new clientele.  Otherwise, they could easily fall back into old habits. This is exactly what I thought about when dining at the Yeti Bar and Grill in Old Town Square.

On March 15, 2012 – residents of Fort Collins witnessed a transformation in Old Town Square. 100 Octane, a bar with a seedy reputation (and one that I actually like, believe it or not), morphed into two business. Downstairs remains the club and bar, keeping the name 100 Octane, but upstairs evolved into Yeti Bar and Grill. Both businesses are owned by Tony Campana, Michael Campana and Chris Brown. Their intention with Yeti was to create something new and exciting for a completely different demographic than what they have at 100 Octane. I’m assuming it was because they had a lot of square footage and most people hung out downstairs in the club, often times leaving the upstairs bar empty. Splitting square footage seems like a smart business idea.

They tore down the chain link that covered the windows and built an absolutely beautiful restaurant with contemporary lodge-style decor. You won’t find cheesy mounted deer heads here! It really is gorgeous. One of the best features is their outdoor patio bar. This is the most valuable asset to their business. They have a prime Old Town Square location and they took full advantage of that by building their patio up for some of the best people watching around. They did an amazing job on creating a new space.

In addition to the facelift, they added a full kitchen with an American-style menu. There’s a small list of appetizers, salads, sandwiches and comfort foods. They even added a kids menu, trying to appeal to the newer family demographic, calling it a family-friendly restaurant.

One afternoon, Jason from Long Green Planning and I had a lunch meeting to talk about The Scoop Blog Network. We sat inside where there weren’t many others eating, but there were a handful of people drinking at the patio bar.

We started with an appetizer of fried oysters with a side of red pepper aioli. They were served as a plate of five breaded oysters. I was not impressed.  The oysters were soggy and tasted off. We didn’t finish them.

Jason ordered the Gourmet Mac and Cheese – house made cheese sauce and cavatappi pasta. He added steak to it for an additional cost of $2.50. It was better than our appetizer, but still pretty average. It needed more flavor to it since it was fairly bland. The steak was on the rubbery side. This dish has potential, but it needs more work.

I ordered the Salmon Panini – thin sliced salmon topped with a green olive and caper relish, spinach, basil, tomato, with herb goat cheese and brie spread on toasted focaccia.

It sounds incredible but it wasn’t that amazing. However, it was better than the Mac and Cheese. It ended up being a runny, sloppy sandwich. I think the downfall here might have to do with the quality of ingredients rather than the flavor combination. Everything has a odd plastic-like taste to it. I’m thinking it must be the type of brie they are using (and I know brie, it’s one of my favorite cheeses).

For my second visit, I wanted to come back again for a later dinner on a weekend night. Lo and behold, there was a line out the door just like all of the other bars in Old Town Square. The owners designed the Yeti so that it was completely separated from 100 Octane, yet there wasn’t a line to Octane, they were all hanging out at Yeti. Quoted in the Coloradoan, they said that they don’t expect much crossover between The Yeti and 100 Octane. “100 Octane pretty much has its own clientele, and they’re very loyal. I see a whole different demographic at The Yeti.”

This isn’t true. Old habits die hard. It’s many people from the same Octane crowd. I ditched the idea of checking them out at night because I can find better things to do with my time than stand in line at a bar. This isn’t Vegas.

I returned for lunch during the week with The Preschooler to see how family-friendly it really was. We sat out on the patio soaking up the sun. The patio is indeed family-friendly in the sense that it’s so close to the fish and the bear statues for the kids to play on. You can easily enjoy your lunch and be near enough that the kids can safely run around, unlike any other restaurant (with the exception of Avo’s back patio). But again, it still has that bar feeling because a lot of people enjoy drinking on the patio. It is still more of a bar than a restaurant just based on guest behaviors. If there’s more drinking than eating, it’s a bar. Their receipts are labeled “100 Octane, Please do not drink and drive! Let us know if you need a taxi!” It’s a bar.

The Preschooler ordered the chicken and cheese sandwich with a side of fries from the kids’ menu. I really appreciated that it was an actual grilled chicken breast rather than deli meat, and it tasted great. I also really enjoy the fries here. Of all of the menu items I’ve tasted, their fries are the best. They could very well compete for the best fries in Fort Collins.They are soft with the perfect amount of sea salt and pepper. I really, really like them.

For my entree, I ordered the Steak and Brie sandwich – sirloin steak sliced thin and sauteed with spinach and garlic, with melted brie inside a toasted hoagie.

Once again, I tasted the same kind of “odd” that I did during my previous lunch. It’s a bitter, dusty kind of flavor. I really do think it’s the quality of the meat and cheese (or one or the other). This sandwich is also light on the meat and heavy on the bread. It’s good enough, but nothing I would be excited to eat again.

The service at Yeti has always been attentive and they really try to make families feel welcome, but I’m afraid this is a case where they were unable to escape from the friends dragging them back down the troubled road. I will still stop by Yeti to enjoy the patio, but I’ll be there for the bar and not the food.

The Yeti Bar and Grill
#23 Old Town Square, suite 152
unknown
No website available, but they have a personal facebook page, not a business page

Kid-Friendly? Only at lunch, and primarily on the patio.

Parking: Old Town parking

Healthy Options? There are a couple of vegetarian options and a few salads.

Budget-Friendly? Most everything is under $9, kids meals are $5

Recent Health Inspection: Excellent